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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010215496 | HC110.T4 E35 2009 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
New technology is intimately associated with increased economic growth. The tools people have and when they acquired them tells us much about cyclical patterns of growth. Those interested in encouraging economic growth would do well to look to the conditions that spur the origins, development, and impact of technology - as well as the circumstances that spur prolific periods of invention, the mother of technology.Despite general recognition of the connection between technology and growth, economists rarely have gotten to the heart of the relationship. Joseph Schumpeter and John Hicks were aware of the role of technology in cyclical variability, but their thoughts were not elaborated upon after they passed from the scene. Nathan Edmonson goes beyond formal theory, reviewing the record of economic growth and the role of technology in this growth.What does the technology future hold? One clue is where past prototype inventions that that have fomented massive technological innovations have come from. Some parts of the private sector, such as Bell Labs, have been important. The government, particularly in its sponsorship of defense related research, has delivered a number of inventions. Universities are very much in the picture in certain fields, such as nanotechnology. The challenges we face at the onset of the twenty-first century are covered in depth and with imagination by Edmonson. The book will spur much rethinking about economic futures.
Author Notes
Nathan Edmonson has worked in numerous positions including professor of economics at Georgia State University, Director of Mineral Economics at Kennecott Minerals Company, chief economist at Ashland Oil, and as economics consultant to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Currently he does independent investing and consulting. He has written scholarly articles in Mining Engineering, Journal of Industrial Economics, and Nitrogen.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
The author's narrative begins with the question of why the process of xerography, with such universally recognized benefits to the business world, did not become a viable office tool for 22 years after the first successful application of the process. He then attempts to explain why this delay was true for xerography, along with many other inventions, and describes the impact innovation and economic growth cycles have on each other. Inventions and innovations happen almost continuously, but obviously not all new processes impact economic growth rates equally. A nexus of new technologies leading to production cost reductions comes along periodically and sets the stage for a period of rapid growth. Various inventions must wait until the rest of the pieces are in place to realize their potential. The roles, goals, interaction, and limits of private industry, government, and research institutions in this process are considered in this volume. Edmonson (formerly, Georgia State Univ.) considers the process to be far too complex to enable the public sector to move it forward effectively. When policy is meant to foster growth by fostering innovation, the proper role of government is clearly outlined as arbiter and facilitator, not "winner-picking." Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections. J. M. Nowakowski Muskingum College
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. vii |
| Introduction | p. ix |
| 1 Basic Concepts | p. 1 |
| 2 The Nineteenth Century's Legacy: Invention and Discovery to 1910 | p. 19 |
| 3 Innovation and Prosperity: 1900-1930 | p. 45 |
| 4 Technology and Depression | p. 73 |
| 5 Materials: Enablers in the Twentieth Century | p. 99 |
| 6 Government Fostering of Invention/Innovation after 1940 | p. 117 |
| 7 Government Regulation and Technology | p. 137 |
| 8 Computers and Other Electronics | p. 161 |
| 9 Light | p. 183 |
| 10 Medical and Related Technology | p. 203 |
| 11 On Technology and the Postwar Economy | p. 229 |
| 12 Technologies that Develop Slowly | p. 259 |
| 13 On Invention and Innovation | p. 279 |
| 14 On Choice among New Technologies | p. 305 |
| 15 Conclusions and Policy Implications | p. 335 |
| Bibliography | p. 349 |
| Index | p. 355 |
